Mitchell has already imposed himself on this series. Slater was desperate for one final say before bidding his farewells to a crowd of almost 52,000, many there to give him his deserved dues.

Cameron Smith was honoured pre-match but this was always going to be Slater’s night. He was given the honour of captaining the side but wanted more than anything to play well – and to win. Both boxes would be ticked.

Slater fell to his haunches at full-time, with Queensland holding off a late rush from NSW to cling on 18-12. It didn’t feel like a dead rubber. They never really do. The Blues deserved the series but Slater deserved the moment.

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‘‘Wow. It was a great Origin. They’re a tough side. I was just really happy for our boys. I’m just really happy,’’ Slater told his close mate and former teammate Darren Lockyer after the game.

‘‘It was a privilege to run out first. The first time leading them out ... it was a special moment.’’Slater would beat Daly Cherry-Evans for man of the match. Given the halfback’s exceptional return, it may have been a decision tinged with some emotion. Still, nobody was going to take it away.

A try would have been a bonus and it looked for all money like he’d jagged before the smoke from the fireworks had cleared the field. He leaped for a Cherry-Evans kick, bobbled it in his arms and crossed to hear the referee send it upstairs as a try. They weren’t reading the same script.

Bunker officials would overturn it to deprive Slater of the icing on his cake. But he was as influential as ever throughout and helped his side springboard into 2019 with some momentum.

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Down 2-0 in the series, this was always going to be a far more important match for the home side, no matter how much the Blues wanted to produce a clean sweep.

Spots were on the line and players responded.

Cherry-Evans should be one of the first picked next year, while Valentine Holmes furthered his reputation as a big-game player with a pair of tries and a brilliant diving intercept late in the piece to stop a NSW raid that could have sent it to golden point.